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Last edited 03 Feb 2021

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Aspects of daylighting design covered by EN 17037

1 Introduction
2 Daylight provision
3 Assessment of view out of windows
4 Access to sunlight
5 Prevention of glare
6 How the provision of daylighting design is measured
7 Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki

[edit] Introduction

EN 17037 Daylight in buildings was published at the end of 2018 and is the first unified standard, applicable Europe-wide, that deals exclusively with the design for and provision of daylight within commercial buildings and residential dwellings.

It comprises four distinct areas:

Daylight provision.
Assessment of view out of windows.
Access to sunlight.
Prevention of glare.

Whilst designers may have familiarity with designing to provide daylight into commercial buildings, the other three aspects of EN 17037 significantly extend the scope of daylight design. This article presents an overview of all four areas that EN 17037 covers.

[edit] Daylight provision

Adequate daylight provision allows users to carry out tasks and plays a part in determining the likelihood for the need of artificial lighting at certain times of the day. Climate-based modelling or daylight factor calculations can be used for the assessment of daylight provision within buildings.

[edit] Assessment of view out of windows

EN 17037 considers the width and outside distance of the view, as well as landscape ‘layers’ (sky, landscape and ground) that a window offers building users. The overall view to be provided should be clear, undistorted and neutrally coloured. The width of view can be determined via either a detailed or simplified approach. The outside distance and number of layers, however, are each measured by a single approach.

[edit] Access to sunlight

Calculating the access, or exposure, to sunlight is a health and comfort factor for users of residences, nurseries and hospital wards. The daily sunlight exposure can be determined through detailed calculations or via table values.

[edit] Prevention of glare

Prevention of glare is concerned with eliminating the chances of glare for building users. This is especially important for those who do not choose where they sit within their environment. It is determined using a comprehensive daylight glare probability (DGP) calculation or using a standard table of values for sun-screening materials.

[edit] How the provision of daylighting design is measured

To offer flexibility for designers and architects whilst also making the standard useable and understandable, EN 17037 sets a mandatory minimum level of performance for each of the four areas of daylighting design.

The standard also gives two additional performance levels: medium and high. Users of EN 17037 are free to select the performance level that best suits the building design and proposed building’s utilisation. Both a simplified and detailed method is offered to assess each design area.

Visit the VELUX Commercial website for further guidance on EN 17037.